Constructing Multiple Semantic Representations in Comprehending and Producing Discourse

Abstract

This chapter describes recent developments in semantic representation theory for knowledge communicated by discourse. The chapter also discusses implications of these developments for modeling of cognitive processes that are involved in the generation of semantic representations in text comprehension and production. The developments reported have their origins in two approaches to research on natural language comprehension. The first is concerned with the problem of defining a model of discourse comprehension and semantic memory representation. The second is concerned with exploring constructive operations, characterized as synthetic or knowledge-based,' as opposed to analytic or text-based.' Semantic representations viewed as expressions in formal symbolic languages that are defined by syntactic rules. The theoretical approach to discourse comprehension and production is characterized as a rule-based' approach in contrast to a frame-based' approach. Semantic grammars provide a unified theory of structure generation applicable across different situations and levels of symbolic representation.